War on Terrorism

Friday, March 31, 2017

Muna Osman Jama, 36, of Reston, Virginia, and Hinda Osman
Dhirane, 46, of Kent, Washington, were sentenced today to 12 years and 11 years
respectively. Jama and Dhirane were found guilty of conspiracy to provide
material support to al-Shabaab, a foreign terrorist organization, and providing
material support to a foreign terrorist organization after a bench trial in
front of U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga on Oct. 25, 2016.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary B. McCord for
National Security, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of
Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington
Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Jay S. Tabb, Jr. of the FBI’s Seattle
Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge
Anthony J. Trenga.

According to court documents, Jama and Dhirane sent money to
financiers of al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya, which they referred to
respectively as the “Hargeisa side” and the “Nairobi side.” The defendants also
organized what was called a “Group of Fifteen,” which included women from
Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada,
as well as Minneapolis, Minnesota. The “Group of Fifteen” met regularly in a
private chatroom that Jama established to organize and track monthly payment of
money to the “Hargeisa side,” which was used to finance al-Shabaab military
operations in the Golis Mountains in northern Somalia, and the “Nairobi side,”
which was used to fund two al-Shabaab safehouses. One of the safehouses was
used by al-Shabaab to store weapons and to prepare for attacks. The other was
used to treat al-Shabaab fighters who had been wounded in battle.

A substantial part of the government’s case consisted of
recorded telephone calls and other communications among the “Group of Fifteen.”
These recordings demonstrated that the women had close connections with
al-Shabaab leadership and were privy to non-public, inside information
concerning al-Shabaab activities. Jama and Dhirane were recorded as they
laughed as the carnage at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was still taking place.
Dhirane and co-conspirator were also recorded as they laughed at the Boston
Marathon Bombing before it became known who committed the attack.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington, D.C.
Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI’s Minneapolis and Seattle Field
Offices. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis also provided valuable
assistance to the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International
Affairs played an essential role in coordinating arrests and searches with
foreign authorities. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James P. Gillis and Danya E.
Atiyeh prosecuted the case with assistance from C. Alexandria Bogle, Trial
Attorney, Counterterrorism Section.

Zakaryia Abdin, 18, of Ladson, South Carolina, appeared in
federal court this morning in Charleston, South Carolina, following his arrest
by the FBI last night. Abdin was arrested for attempting to provide material
support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign
terrorist organization. The charge is based on Abdin’s alleged attempt to
travel overseas to join the terrorist organization. Special Agents of the FBI’s
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) took Abdin into custody at the Charleston
International Airport before he boarded an outbound flight.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary
B. McCord and U.S. Attorney Beth Drake for the District of South Carolina made
the announcement.

Charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being handled by the FBI-JTTF.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Kittrell of the District of South Carolina and
Trial Attorney Jennifer Burke of the National Security Division’s
Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Kassim Tajideen is a specially designated terrorist charged
with evading U.S. sanctions

WASHINGTON – DEA and other federal officials today announced
the arrest of Kassim Tajideen, a prominent financial supporter of the Hizballah
terror organization. Tajideen is charged with evading U.S. sanctions imposed on
him because of his financial support of Hizballah.

Tajideen, 62, of Beirut, Lebanon, was arrested overseas on
March 12, 2017, based on an 11-count indictment unsealed today in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia following his arrival to the United
States. Tajideen made his initial court appearance today before Magistrate
Judge Robin M. Meriweather.Tajideen
pleaded not guilty and was ordered held pending a detention hearing set for
March 29.

The arrest and indictment are the result of a two-year
investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and assisted by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The effort is part of DEA’s Project
Cassandra, which targets Hizballah’s global criminal support network – dubbed
by the DEA as the Business Affairs Component (BAC) that operates as a
logistics, procurement and financing arm for Hizaballah.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary
McCord of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney
Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia, DEA Special Agent in Charge
Raymond Donovan of the Special Operations Division, and CBP Acting Commissioner
Kevin K. McAleenan made the announcement.

“Kassim Tajideen posed a direct threat to safety and
stability around the world,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Donovan. “A
prominent money man for Hizballah, Tajideen acted as a key source of funds for
their global terror network. DEA and our partners are unrelenting in our
pursuit of the world’s most dangerous terror and criminal networks and their
many facilitators who threaten the rule of law and innocent lives.”

“Because of his support for Hizballah, a major international
terrorist group, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Kassim Tajideen in
2009 that barred him from doing business with U.S. individuals and companies,”
said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco.“Those sanctions are a powerful tool in our efforts to combat terrorists
and those who would support them.Indeed, the sanctions posed such a significant threat to Tajideen’s
extensive business interests that he allegedly went to great lengths to evade
them by hiding his identity from the U.S. entities he did business with, and
from the government agencies responsible for enforcing the sanctions.Thanks to the diligent work of our
prosecutors and law enforcement partners, we broke through the web of
intermediaries Tajideen allegedly used to conceal his involvement, and he has
been brought to the United States to face justice.”

“Kassim Tajideen is alleged to have willfully flouted U.S.
sanctions that were based on his prior support for Hizballah, a designated
foreign terrorist organization,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for
National Security McCord. “Those sanctions are designed to protect our national
security and public safety by limiting terrorists’ access to resources, and
this extradition sends a clear message that we are resolved to find and hold
accountable those who violate these laws.”

“The investigation of this case and the arrest and
extradition of this defendant demonstrates our commitment to enforcing vitally
important sanctions laws that are in place to protect our national security and
foreign policy interests,” said U.S. Attorney Phillips. “Because of the hard
work of law enforcement here and abroad, Kassim Tajideen will now face charges
in an American courtroom.”

The indictment charges Tajideen with one count of willfully
conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)
and the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, seven counts of unlawful
transactions with a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and one count of
conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The indictment also indicates that
the government will seek a forfeiture money judgment against the defendants
equal to the value of any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is
derived from proceeds traceable to these offenses.

According to the indictment, Tajideen allegedly presided
over a multi-billion-dollar commodity distribution business that operates
primarily in the Middle East and Africa through a web of vertically integrated
companies, partnerships, and trade names.The indictment further alleges that Tajideen and others engaged in an
elaborate scheme to engage in business with U.S. companies while concealing
Tajideen’s involvement in those transactions.

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control named Tajideen a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on May 27,
2009.This designation prohibits U.S.
companies from transacting unlicensed business with Tajideen or any companies
which are operated for his benefit – in essence stripping Tajideen’s global
business empire of its ability to legally acquire goods from, or wire money
into, the United States.However, the
indictment alleges that Tajideen restructured his business empire after the
designation in order to evade the sanctions and continue conducting transactions
with U.S. entities.Tajideen and others
are alleged to have created new trade names and to have misrepresented his
ownership in certain entities in order to conceal Tajideen’s association.The scheme allowed Tajideen’s companies to
continue to illegally transact business directly with unwitting U.S. vendors,
as well as to continue utilizing the U.S. financial and freight transportation
systems to conduct wire transfers and move shipping containers despite the
sanctions against Tajideen.

According to the indictment, between approximately July of
2013 until the present day, the conspirators illegally completed at least 47
individual wire transfers, totaling over approximately $27 million, to parties
in the United States.During the same
time period, the conspirators caused dozens of illegal shipments of goods to
leave U.S. ports for the benefit of Tajideen, without obtaining the proper
licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has
committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent
until, and unless, proven guilty.

This investigation was carried out by the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the District of Columbia, the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering
and Asset Recovery Section, the DEA and the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection’s National Targeting Center Counter-Network Division, with
assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the
Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice’s
National Security Division.The case is
being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Gillice and Deborah
Curtis and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline L. Barkett of the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Joseph Palazzo
from the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

Participating investigative agencies in DEA’s Project
Cassandra include the DEA’s New Jersey Field Division and Special Operations
Division and various DEA country offices, as well as the Treasury Department’s
Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.